The idea of fiscal stimulus for the U.S. economy is all the rage, but what’s been missing is a thorough discussion of all possible results. Minnesotans testifying at a congressional hearing held in the Twin Cities earlier this week certainly…
Stockwalk situation shows how quickly failure can spread
The collapse last week of Stockwalk, a Minneapolis securities firm, shows in microcosm just how contagious failures can be. Stockwalk was a relatively small Golden Valley, Minnesota-based stock brokerage that grew rapidly in recent years. It had specialized in underwriting…
Avoiding rate traps
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee had another meeting Tuesday. Scanning four newspapers Wednesday, I found almost identical stories on the event. The central bank lowered its target for the federal funds rate by half a percentage point to 2.5…
Right now, theories are solid, but limited in capabilities
In light of recent unprecedented events, it seems like economists can’t tell us anything about what will happen next. What do economists do when their theories suddenly see useless? Do they have to come up with a whole set of…